Prohibition began on January 16, 1920 in America, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. Federal Prohibition agents (police) were given the task of enforcing the law. Even though the sale of alcohol was illegal, alcoholic drinks were still widely available at "speakeasies" and other underground drinking establishments. Many people also kept private bars to serve their guests. Large quantities of alcohol were smuggled in from Canada, overland and via the Great Lakes.